Sometimes the right book comes to you at the right time. That was the case with The Future for Curious People by Gregory Sherl. I was kind of in a reading funk and wanted something light, fun and feel good. Nothing that would tax my synapses too much. That was exactly what The Future for Curious People delivered. It was a quick and quirky love story that kind of restored my faith in love and in fate.
The premise of the novel drifts a little into the sci-fi zone, but I let that go. Sherl postulates ‘envisioning’, whereby you can go to an envisioning practitioner’s office, get yourself hooked up to a device and see your future with your potential mate. When Godfey reluctantly goes for some envisioning at the behest of his fiance, he finds that a mysterious woman in this dream-like state attracts his attention. And yes, it is love.
For me the most enjoyable part of the book was the characters. They have some interesting quirks but are very easy to relate to. In particular, Evelyn is a rather bookish person. She works in a library and spouts literary quotes for every situation. So for those of us who are bookish ourselves, there are characters who are bookish without being boring or pedantic.
The Future for Curious People asks some interesting questions about fate, happiness and the future. If we know what will happen in the future is there anything we can do to change it? And if you could know right now that your marriage will end in acrimony what would you do to change it. Are there certain people who are just meant to be together?
Who would like this book? As I mentioned at the beginning, this book is a light read. It is not going to win any major literary awards, but it is a fun read. The Future for Curious People is a book that would keep you entertained on a plane and I can almost see it being made into a movie. In someways, it is speculative fiction with a romantic comedy twist.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley for review consideration.
52 books or bust 
The book looks really interesting..
I keep hearing great things about this and I love that it brings in some slight sci-fi elements without giving up its literary tone. It sounds a bit like a book I read last year called Love Minus Eighty, which I really enjoyed.
I haven’t heard of Love Minus Eighty. Must check it out.
I keep finding great books on your blog that I have never heard of before. I love the questions this book raises! It reminds me of a movie I saw a few years ago, in which you could choose to get a timer that would tell you which exact day you were going to meet your soulmate. The protagonist reluctantly went to get one with her friend (like a tattoo), and wasn’t happy with/or didn’t want to believe what it was telling her. It’s a bit fuzzy now, and I can’t remember what it’s called, but your description of this book reminded me. I thought the premise was intriguing.
These two sound quite similar actually.
And I’m glad you find books you’ve never heard of here. One of my goals is to highlight new fiction that I think deserves more attention.
I requested this one Netgalley too, but haven’t gotten around to it yet. I’m hearing so many great things though, I need to make time for it soon!
It’s a pretty quick read, so it shouldn’t take you long.
I’m happy to hear that this is a light but good read! I’ve been kind of craving that lately so I may have to dive into this one soon! I always wonder about “fate” and if there’s such a thing…